IT SWEPT INTO OBLIVION ALL THAT HAD GONE BEFORE!

One of the earliest Best Picture winners had the look and feel of an epic, depicting a family over several decades, beginning with the Oklahoma land rush in 1889; the Cravats help shape Osage into more than a wild boomtown.

Marred by well-meaning but racist portraits of minorities, a less than compelling story and Richard Dix’s over-acting (especially during a trial).

Irene Dunne is better and the film is still worth a look, with the spectacular opening land rush sequence, involving thousands of extras, and Western sets that came to be used in many subsequent films.

1931-U.S. 124 min. B/W. Directed by Wesley Ruggles. Screenplay: Howard Estabrook, Louis Sarecky. Novel: Edna Ferber. Cinematography: Edward Cronjager. Art Direction: Max Rée. Cast: Richard Dix (Yancey Cravat), Irene Dunne (Sabra Cravat), Estelle Taylor (Dixie Lee), Nance O’Neil, William Collier, Jr., Roscoe Ates, Edna May Oliver. 

Trivia: Remade as Cimarron (1960).

Oscars: Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction.